And I Thought This was going to be Easy: Part 1
by Chris Rode
Summary: Viatrix Sasaki can be seen as a lonesome wanderer, but she is so much more. She learns, through gaining the friends she's always been grateful for, that there are more things in life than revenge. A trivial thing, revenge is. It will bring out the absolute worst in people unless they learn to move past it. *full summary inside*
1. Summary

**If any of you know Irisivory's "Naruto Fanfic: And I Thought This was Going to be Easy" on Quizilla, it has been moved here! Quizilla won't let me publish anything anymore for whatever reason, so I'm moving it here and will be updating it more frequently. The first season will be divided up into parts, each part being categorized as a separate story. I hate to do this, but it has like a million chapters and I don't want to piss people off by putting them all together and stuff. They will be titled *1st - And I Thought This was going to be Easy: Part 1* *2nd - And I Thought This was going to be Easy: Part 2* and so on until I finish the season. That was the major announcement.**

Summary: Viatrix Sasaki was given two paths to pick from when her clan was murdered: 1) live a life of solitude, aiming solely for revenge against the guilty, and foster a hatred so deep in her heart that nothing could ever penetrate the blackened walls she built around her. Or, 2) don't succumb to hatred and pain, but instead feed from it, control it, train it to make her stronger, with the help of all the friends she could gain on her path of destiny. Viatrix chose the second path, and will find out if she was right in doing so. Her heritage puts on her shoulders a weight she cannot sense yet, but she will find out as she travels with her new comrades, Team 7, and discovers all the secrets hidden in this world that is scattered with both truth and lies alike. It will take courage, honesty, love, and friendship to achieve the goal she isn't aware she's striving toward. Will Viatrix continue to make the right choices? Or will dark forces make her fall down the path she'd been avoiding all these years? Only time will tell, and as she becomes stronger and learns the truth about her lost family, Viatrix will come to the realization that will change her life forever. After all, a black orchid such as she shows no sign of withering until she's already gone, the dust of her past flying away with the wind formed by the darkness that lurks within her soul.


	2. Day One

**Attention:** **I will post pictures of new characters on my DeviantArt page. Viatrix can be found here: akastalker. deviantart. com (remove spaces). And by "new characters" I mean some of my original OCs.**

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**Setting Out on Day One**

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_~Dreaming~_

A dark, over-grown forest surrounded me, enclosing around me on all sides. It seemed like the space was getting smaller and smaller, and I somehow knew the walls wouldn't stop from crushing me into oblivion.

But then I saw light. It was a faint twinkle, really, but light nonetheless. I ran toward it, through the ever-closing trunks just in time before they sealed shut behind me. But the light started to take a shape instead of the big blur it had been. There was a head, two arms, and two legs. And then the light dimmed to show a person.

The first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were dark, cold, and just as black as my own. His hair was black, like mine, as well - spiked in the back and parted in the front. His face, nearly angelic in the faint light that still surrounded him, was distorted with a sort of anger and hatred I seemed to recall. It was vengeance, and I, too, had that in common.

But, all of a sudden, he exploded back into the light he had been, the light I had chased after, and the light that saved me from the crushing wall of trees. And just like that, I woke up.

_~Viatrix's POV~_

I jumped with a start and fell out of bed, landing face-first on the hard wooden floor. I held a hand to my head as I untangled the clingy blanket from around me. I realized I was covered in cold sweat, and sighed.

'Oh great,' I thought, 'another vision'. Yes, a vision. Like complete, all the way, psychic, fortune-teller vision of the future. And it wasn't the fall that caused the huge headache pounding through my skull. The damn visions did that to me, which is why I always dreaded sleeping.

I got up and smoothed out the lacy black nightgown I was wearing. Looking down, I caught sight of the menacing scars running down my legs, and cursed under my breath.

"Pallox! Come here, now!" I yelled angrily. Pallox was my pet...dog. Okay, maybe dog was stretching the truth a little too far. Pallox had red and black fur, which was cool because of the gothic texture it gave him, and had claws that could tear skin to shreds if he wanted them to. Apparently, he'd taken a liking to using my legs as a scratching post.

Pallox padded into the room through the open door, bushy tail between his legs and his head down. I put my hand on my hips and shifted my wait to one side. "Yeah, you better be sorry. Now, fix it." I said, pointing down at my legs. I hated this part the most, because it was...well, gross.

Pallox cowered over and began licking the scars. They didn't hurt now, but his kind had a way of causing immense pain, although delayed. After only a moment, the thin red lines disappeared, and I made sure there was no infection spreading already.

See, Pallox was a demon-ninja hound. Actually, he was the only one of his breed now, or I'm fairly sure, anyway. Sure, there are ninja hounds all over the place these days, but demon-ninja hounds were an endangered species. And, technically, they weren't supposed to be kept as pets, especially by a ninja-in-training like me. But when I'd come across him that day, I just couldn't have left him out in the cold rain. But, that's a story for another time.

I bent down and scratched Pallox on the head, and he relaxed a little. Then I took his face in both hands and looked him in the eye, which, with any other demon-ninja or even regular ninja hound, was supposedly dangerous. Normal hounds would bite the hell out of your face if you looked them in the eye, but Pallox just calmed down as I did. Maybe it was only me, but I wouldn't dare let him near anyone else to find out if that was true or not.

"Now, are you sorry?" I asked; he nodded solemnly. I smiled and kissed his nose, then stood, racking my mind for what I was supposed to do this morning...I slapped myself on the head, causing a throbbing wave of headache to course through my temples. I groaned, but ignored it other than that. "I'm supposed to get to the Academy early! They're going to start without me!" I said worriedly.

I ran past Pallox, out into the hall of my apartment, and dashed toward the bathroom. I sighed in relief at the sight of the clothes I'd somehow remembered to lay out last night. A black, short-sleeved shirt with netting over it; faded black jeans, the torn edges looking awesomely jagged; and black ninja sandals. Okay, technically, Academy students were supposed to wear blue sandals, but no one's ever bothered me about it. Then again, no one ever talked to me period, except for the Chuunin. And, it's not what you think. I don't get in trouble or anything - I'm actually a really good student. Iruka, my class's teacher, had taken a specific liking to me and has lately been training with me separately. It's really helped me through a lot.

But then there's Naruto. Sometimes, I stayed over late at the Academy and found him training by himself. Iruka's joined me on some of those observations, and apparently was worried about him. I'm not exactly sure what he thought of him, but I knew it's something between the two of them, that even Naruto may be clueless about. All I knew for sure was that the kid had potential.

So I quickly undressed, got in the shower, and turned on the cold water. After I was fully awake (and shivering to the bone) I warmed up the water and actually took a real shower. I got out, dried (of course), and dressed into my new outfit. I remembered to stop by my room once more (where Pallox was sleeping soundly on the pillow I apparently pounded the hell out of during my somewhat painful sleep) to grab my kunai and shuriken pack. After that, I bustled downstairs to the kitchen and yanked open the mini-fridge.

I skimmed over the entrails, not really finding anything to eat on the go. I thought about the single pack of insta-ramen, but passed it over. Those insta-ramens were disgusting anyway. I preferred the real kind, you know, from a soup bowl and such. I just grabbed a water bottle and set out.

I had to hold my hair down from the harsh wind as soon as I stepped out the door. Before I changed my mind, I went back, got a gray hoodie, and slipped it on, too, pulling the hood up to cover my hair somewhat. I then dashed down the dirt street, navigating my way around the oddly few people out and about. But, then again, who would want to go out on a day like this? I looked up to see dark clouds forming overhead, one blotting out the sun as soon as I did. _'Just perfect,'_ I thought, _'it's the day for test scores and I'm running late'._

Fortunately, I made it to the Academy in less time than I thought I would. I pushed my way through the other crowded Academy students, and a few Genin, and made it through the door to my class. To my surprise, only this year's students were present. Usually, or so Iruka has told me, the Genin that were students last year were supposed to be present for the scores. Something to do with making recommendations to the Jounin that would be instructing us from now on, if we passed, or something like that.

All of a sudden I was tackled out of nowhere. I fell to the floor, but the person's arms softened the land. I looked up, ready to pound whoever had just done that, but relaxed once I saw the familiar red , too.

"Hey baby." He said, not giving me any time to reply. He kissed me, right there, in front of everyone. But I didn't care. Kiba and I were stripes on his face. I smiled, causing him to bare his fangs in a grin. We were never self-conscious about what others thought of us. I laughed as he pulled back, and felt something tickling my stomach. I dodged Akamaru's surprise-lick just before he launched out of Kiba's gray jacket.

He laughed and helped me up with one hand, zipping his jacket more securely with the other. Akamaru snuggled into it, and I rubbed his head, then looked at Kiba again.

"You know, you don't always have to tackle me first thing when you see me." I said; he smiled that fang-filled grin again.

"Yeah, sorry. Old habits die hard, you know?" He teased, linking his arm through mine as we took two seats behind a desk at the back of the classroom. Looking down toward the front, I caught someone watching me. He quickly turned away as I looked at him, but I felt something tugging at my gut. He had spiky black hair, and, from what I'd seen briefly, black eyes, too. He seemed familiar...

Just then, something blew open the door. The whole class looked over to see Twiddle-De and Twiddle-Doe shoving each other through the door. Pinkie elbowed Blondie, causing her to double over and allow her to squeeze through. I remembered (from that section of my mind that kept track of the unimportant things) that Pinkie's name was Sakura, and the blond was Ino. Sigh, they were the presidents of the Sasuke Fan-club.

The sudden memory of Sasuke's name had me looking back at the boy with black spiky hair. Yup, that was Sasuke alright. Funny, he didn't seem familiar as a fellow student just a moment ago, but now that earlier familiarity was gone, and he was just another guy. Weird.

Sakura, made it to Sasuke's desk first, through was immediately followed by an angry Ino. They both leaned over his desk to get as close as possible without sitting down.

"So Sasuke, who do you wanna sit with?" Ino asked before Sakura could even open her mouth. "Surely not billboard-brow over here." She said, waving her hand dismissively toward Sakura. This was all too interesting to turn away from. Coincidentally, both Kiba and I rested our elbows on the table and put our heads on our joined fingers. It was like watching a drama-movie.

"Shut up, Ino Pig!" Sakura yelled, a stress vein appearing on her (quite admittably) large forehead. "No way would Sasuke want to sit next to a hag like you!" Ino was about to shout a snappy come-back, but Sasuke interrupted them, speaking for the first time.

"Enough." He said calmly, easily silencing the both of them. We all listened intently. "I don't want to sit next to either of you." His voice was lazy, bored at best. Both Sakura and Ino looked taken aback by his claim. Then they glowered at each other.

"See what you did, billboard-brow! You've annoyed him and ruined my chances!" Ino yelled furiously. Even I had a good chuckle at that. I could just picture Kiba smirking next to me.

"What chances, Ino Pig?! As if Sasuke would ever like someone as ugly as you!" Sakura yelled back, fist raised in defiance. This went on and on for about five minutes until a spunky voice filled the classroom. I looked toward the door nearest the bottom of the room, where a spiky-hair blond boy stood. Oh good, Naruto's arrived.

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**I would seriously love some reviews on this story once I get some more up. I don't know, it just really seemed to take off on Quizilla (each chapter had a 5-star rating), and I would really like to ****_hear_**** what people have to say about it. Constructive criticism is also appreciated, but just keep in mind that I already have, like, five parts of the story done (parts, meaning parts of different chapters) and don't plan on making any huge changes. Love you all!**


	3. This is Unusual

**Please Note: This story will be following the actual Naruto story, so I apologize for the filler chapters, but it'll build up to the good stuff :P Plus, I'll try to either make the fillers short and quick, or at least a little humorous. There are a few flashforwards, so there's that to look forward to.**

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**This is Unusual**

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"Hey, what's all the fighting about?" He said, effortlessly slipping past them into the vacant seat next to Sasuke. I doubted he even knew who was sitting there in the first place. "S'not like one seat is going to end the world." He said sarcastically. Before things got really bad (for Naruto, that is) Iruka walked in then. One glance at the girls and they took separate seats far away from each other. Sakura sat in the seat in front of Kiba and I, next to (but scooted away from) Shino.

Ah, good 'ole Shino. Bug-boy, we used to call him. Man, did he have some moves. I've wanted to train with him for some time now, but he's either never around or unavailable when I ask for him. Must be a busy kid, doing whatever it was bug-boys did.

"Good morning class." Iruka said, standing behind his teacher's desk, straightening some papers. I had a feeling those might've been the test scores. The room was completely silent - even Akamaru stayed quiet inside Kiba's jacket. "I'm sure you're all wondering by now whether or not if you're going to become a Genin." Not a word from us, but Kiba took my hand under the table. I gripped it back tightly, sending my dread to him about my scores. He squeezed back reassuringly. "Lucky for you, today's the day you'll find out. But first, a few introductions are to be made." He gestured toward the still open door at the bottom of the classroom.

Through the door filed three Genin, last year's Academy students. I was wondering when they'd show up. One in particular caught my attention. He had brown hair tied at the bottom and a black regulation headband. His eyes were...different. They looked like a blind person's, but from the way he scanned the seated students, I doubted he was in any way blind. He wore a very light brown jacket and black shorts, and seemed to radiate energy, as if he could take action as soon as trouble occurred.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten." Iruka said, gesturing to each of them as they were announced. The one I'd been looking at was named Neji. And his last name, Hyuga, was also Hinata's. Come to think of it, they did have the same eyes, now that I was looking. I guess I'd never really paid much attention to Hinata, even though we'd been in the same class for about three years now. Sigh, we were thirteen, and these Genin were sixteen. They probably thought of us as kids, which, in retrospect, we were.

As if he felt my eyes on him, Neji glanced up toward me. I felt Kiba tense as soon as our eyes met, but I didn't pay him any mind. I was lost in Neji's stare. It wasn't like he was forcing me to do anything, it was just those eyes. They were so unusual and so different I was mesmerized by them.

Kiba's claws digging slightly into my hand pulled me out of my trance. I looked at him, a little confused. He loosened his grip and nodded down toward our instructor, who was apparently deep in speech now.

"...which is why they are here today. So, if you'll give them all of your attention, I think you'll find what they have to say very...enlightening." Iruka said. Crap, I'd missed an entire lecture; an important one from the sound of it. Still, I poured all my focus on each of them instead of just Neji. Rock Lee, who was an extreme bushy-brow geek in a green jumpsuit, began speaking first.

"Young students, I realize you must be anxious to get this over with, so we'll make it quick. Being a ninja is not all fun and games. It is life and death, every second. When you go out on missions you think are safe because they're D-ranked, you're wrong. You should never, under any circumstances, let your guard down outside of this village. And even, then, you should remain vigilant. You, you're squad, and your squad leader will all have to work together in order for you to pull through any kind of mission alive." Tenten picked up there without having to be told to.

"It has been this way for many years. The way of the ninja is not only a source of power, but a great deal of responsibility to hold. We should know, we're living it. Our sensei has guided us through great deals of hardships we may not have been able to get out of on our own. We ourselves are still learning, even if we think we have what it takes to take on the real world. In short, even when you think you can do something, don't go running in blind without that extra knowledge that just might keep you alive when you'd die otherwise." She stepped back, and Neji stepped forward. I made sure to avoid his...void eyes as he spoke.

"You are presumably the next Genin in this village." His voice was calm and less commanding than the others', which was comforting. But I still kept my eyes away from his, no matter how tempting it was to look at them. I could just feel his own eyes boring into me, just begging for me to glance his way. "Should you make it up the next rank, you should be prepared for whatever your sensei throws your way. There will be a test to determine whether or not you are truly qualified to become a ninja, and that test will stretch you to your limits if you are not ready. And one more thing, just to be clear." He scanned over the class before continuing. "I'm certain you're all aware of a special someone that went as wrong as wrong could go a few long years back. I feel the need to warn you that that is not a life you want to live. So if you have any doubts, any doubts at all, about whether or not you are completely ready for this responsibility, I suggest you drop out now and save yourself the tragedy."

This rattled us all. Drop out? And start all over again? What was he talking about? That was insane! Who in their right mind would drop out at this point, when they still have the chance to become Genin and a great ninja?

At first, nobody moved. And then chair legs scraping against the wooden floor as it was pushed back made everyone jump. A few students I'd never even noticed before followed the first out the door. Where they were going, I had no idea. But I did know that they must've felt Neji's words pretty deep in order to get up and leave, just like that. The rest of us turned back to Neji, who had taken his step back in line and seemed only just the slightest bit smug in his so-called achievement in sparing the next generation.

Kiba's breathing was just as deep as mine. This had startled both of us, but knowing Kiba, he was about to do something stupid. I felt his muscles tense before he had a chance to actually push back. I gripped his hand so tight my knuckles turned white. He looked at me, his eyes sad and remorseful.

_'I have to'_ he mouthed. I shook my head, mouth slightly open and eyebrows furrowed.

"Stay." I whispered. More despair filled his eyes. I squeezed tighter, if that was possible. "Please, you can do this. You can't back out now, you're going to be a great ninja." I said, so quietly I doubted he could even hear me since Iruka's steps across the floor nearly muffled out my voice. He took a deep breath and nodded, then settled back into his seat.

I relaxed, too, suddenly very relieved I hadn't let him leave. We have been together for two years, and I did care for him, a lot. And I was not going to sit by and watch him walk out that door, not without going with him. And, thinking back on it, that was probably what had stopped him. I guess he didn't want to drag me back down to the bottom with him, which was exactly what I would've done.

"Thank you, for that very insightful speech. Iruka said; the Genin nodded respectfully. I saw Iruka glance up at me quickly before returning to the papers on his desk. But even in that one small second of eye contact, I knew he knew what had just happened. And I also knew he was glad I'd stopped Kiba, too. I felt better knowing I did the right thing. "And now, without further ado, I will announce this year's Genin."

Because of the people that had left, Iruka was noticeably pausing and then picking up from the list of new Genin, skipping those who had left. I went through the daily roll-call in my mind, keeping track of who was next and next to next before he even called off their names. Those who had stayed and were not called were pointed out into the hall by the Genin.

And then, he started calling out some familiar names.

"Shino Aburame." Iruka called out. Bug-boy stood silently, both me and Sakura watching him as he graciously took his headband and came back to his seat. "Ino Yamanaka." Blondie stood, smirking at Sakura on the way by, took the headband, and wiggled it in front of Pinkie's face on the way back. Sakura crossed her arms stubbornly. "Sasuke Uchiha."

We were all silent as the ever-so-famous Sasuke got up and took his headband, reluctantly sitting back down next to Naruto, who seemed to just realize he was there.

"Sakura Haruno." The biggest grin ever spread across Pinkie's face as she practically bounced down the steps to take her new headband in both hands and gawk at it all the way back up. She plopped down back in her seat, not seeming to care about Shino now. "Naruto Uzumaki." The blond punk got up and walked confidently to Iruka, whom I'm told is his favorite teacher. He did a weird little dance (or body spasm) before he returned to his seat, making Sasuke let out an annoyed huff. "Shikamaru Nara."

I hadn't really paid him much attention over the years. All I know is that he looked surprised to have passed as he lazily took his headband and sat back down, next to the next person called.

"Hinata Hyuga." The shy little thing tip-toed down the isle, ducking her head as she took her band, and sat back down. She gazed at the band without lifting her head, but I knew she must've felt really proud. "Choji Akimichi." Oh no, fatso made it, too? How was that even possible? The ball of blubber was forced to abandon his chip bag to quickly snatch the band with his greasy fingers and plunk back onto his seat (or seats, I should say). "Kiba Inuzuka." I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding as he got up and walked down the stairs. He fang-grinned up at me as he walked back, showing me the headband as he took his seat again and put his arm around me.

It was blue, with a metal slab attached to the middle. On the metal was inscribed the Leaf Village symbol, and I stroked it with my thumb. It was a pretty thing. I'd hate to see it get messed up on Kiba's forehead. Actually, I'd hate to see Kiba's forehead get messed up, more.

"Viatrix Sasaki." I jumped as my name was called, but Kiba gently prodded me to stand. I knew this meant I'd become a Genin, but I felt all numb for some reason. The numbness changed to freezing cold as I passed Sasuke's desk. I glanced at him as I passed, only to find that his eyes were already trained on me. He didn't look away as I made it to Iruka's desk and accepted the blue headband from him. He smiled at me as I turned and walked back. I kept my eye on Sasuke for the rest of the time, even though his eyes didn't follow me back to my seat.

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**Reviews? I know it's early on in the story, but pwease? Pwetty pwease wit sugar on top?**


	4. Squads

**Squads**

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"That is all of the names I have listed here." Iruka said, taking a final scan of the remaining. I realized that everyone up to Shino had left the classroom after getting their headbands. I wondered if we were supposed to go, too, or if they'd been told to leave. Now I felt self-conscious, of all the times. "Those who are still here, please rise." We all got to our feet on Iruka's command, and the tension in the room was nearly tangible. I suppose my own could be added to that, as well. "You have all been marked as special Genin. You are expected to pass the test given by the Jounin you will be assigned to tomorrow." Iruka said. "Only three teams can pass, as I'm sure you know. I'll tell you your squads now, ahead of time, so you'll have time to plan out a possible strategy, if needed."

We all looked at each other, and took our seats again when directed to. The original Genin still stood in their positions, not looking the least bit tired, even though it was near past noon and they'd just stood there most of the time.

"Squad 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Viatrix Sasaki." And at those words, all hell broke loose.

"Iruka Sensei, why do I have to be on a team with Sasuke?" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Wait a minute! There are only supposed to be three people in a group! This isn't right!" Sakura shouted above Naruto.

"These three are only going to slow me down." Even Sasuke was standing, but his voice was calmer than the others, and seemed to have a consequential effect on both of them. I stayed seated, not really sure what just happened.

"Please calm down. I know this sounds strange, but let me explain." Iruka said, and they did, albeit reluctantly. Sakura folded her arms again; Naruto humpfed and turned away from Sasuke; Sasuke sighed and leaned back in his seat; I blinked. "There have been some slight changes in the customs for this group. And for good reason, mind you." Iruka said. We all paid close attention, for this was probably the climax of this exciting day. "Sasuke and Viatrix have the absolute highest scores in this class, both tying." We glanced at each other, and I caught the challenge in his eyes. I looked away, not willing to accept the challenge if he was going to be in my squad. "Naruto, you had the lowest." That got the blond porcupine standing again.

"Oh come on! You said yourself I was a great ninja! You saw what I did, you saw it!" He yelled; Sakura laughed.

"See what? You failing again? Please Naruto, we all knew this was going to happen." Sakura said in a smug voice. He growled a little and sat down, though I was sure he didn't believe a word out of Sakura's mouth. To my own surprise, neither did I.

"Anyway, Sakura, being the second highest to Viatrix and Sasuke, has a certain quality I think you'll need, Naruto, in order to function as an entire squad and not just some selfish brat I know you all are at heart." Iruka said, his voice turning a little harsh on the last part. I looked down, though I didn't know how he could say that about me. I'd always been a good kid (in school anyway). When had I ever been "a selfish brat" toward or in front of him? "Now, please let me get on with the rest of the waiting Genin.

"Squad 8 will be Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi." Ino's head hit the table.

"Ohhhhh! Not food-boy and the class-slacker!" She complained. "I'll never get anywhere with you two dragging me down!" Shikamaru turned around in his seat in front of her to glare her way.

"I am not a slacker, obviously." He gestured to his headband, which was tied to his bicep (bicep-band?). "You have no idea what I can do." Iruka carried on before Ino was able to get out yet another unknown come-back. Choji just kept stuffing his face. There were about five chip bags idling empty on his desk now.

"Squad 9 will be Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka." The three didn't complain, but they did share a couple glances that I wasn't sure how to interpret. I was sad, though, that I wouldn't be in Kiba's team. We shared our own private stare as Iruka moved on. "And that's that. You are the three teams we expect to make it, so I'd advise you not to let us down." He finished, setting the papers down and looking at the older Genin. "You can go now, thank you for coming here."

They nodded and left, Neji last in line. I caught his lightning-fast glance my way, and I'm sure he knew I saw it, too. I wondered what was up with him...

"As for the rest of you, I suggest you eat lunch with your own squads. It'll do you some good to spend some time bonding, since it's obvious that's going to take a while." He said, then gave a dismissive wave of his hand. The ten of us split up and went out the two different doors, though Kiba and I stayed together.

Out in the hall, we hugged each other. We knew what was going to happen now, it was quite clear, actually. We were on different squads, and this was not going to work out right now. He pulled back and looked me in the eyes.

"Hey, I love you, okay? You know that." He said, for once, seriously. I nodded, forcing the tears from showing in my eyes.

"Yeah, I know. And you know I love you, too, right?" I asked; he smiled and nodded, too. His hand cupped my cheek, and I let myself lean into it for the last moments we had together before...who knows what.

"Kiba!" Bug-boy's raspy voice reached us from down the hall, where we pulled away and looked. Kiba planted a surprise kiss on me one more time, allowing Akamaru to whimper and lick my neck. I guess he knew a lot more than I thought he could.

"Hey, don't you worry, alright? I'll still pounce on you." He said teasingly before hurrying away toward his new squad. I sighed, watching him walk away towards the lunch room. Then I remembered I had my own squad, and started looking for them.

A tap on my shoulder had me spinning around. The blond porcupine jumped back, raising his hands in defense. "Hey! Watch it, Viatrix. I just wanted to get you back with Sakura and Sasuke. Come on, follow me." He said, turning in the other direction than the one that led to the cafeteria. I reluctantly followed him, unsure of how to take his sudden order. I wasn't used to taking orders from anyone but the higher level ninja. And even then...

I followed Naruto, and was soon able to single out Sasuke and Sakura in the mix of people crowding the halls. _'Sheesh, shouldn't these people be in class or something?'_ I thought to myself. I realized I was clutching something in my hand then. I quickly loosened my grip and let the feeling return to my hand. I looked at the hard object, and saw it was my regulation headband.

I thought for a second. Where was I going to wear it? Obviously, we didn't have to wear it on our foreheads, though Naruto and Sasuke seemed to prefer it that way. Sakura had hers up like a ribbon tie. And Shikamaru had had his tied onto his arm. I remember seeing Ino wrapping hers around her waist. And that Lee Genin wore his as a sort of belt. Hmm...

Then I had an idea. While Naruto kept walking ahead, I paused and bent down on one knee to reach my right foot. I tied it securely around my ankle, tightening the ends so they wouldn't stick out and trip me or something. Perfect. It fit right above my shoe, so it wouldn't get in the way. I caught back up to Naruto just as he joined up with the other two.

"Hey guys! So, we're a team now, eh? Bet Sakura's in Sasuke Heaven." Naruto teased, though I think I was the only one who caught the light blush as he said it. Ohhhh, someone's in loooove.

I shook the thought out of my mind. Love only made me think of Kiba, who was probably wondering why I wasn't in the cafeteria right about now.

"Hey, shouldn't we go eat? I'm starving." I suggested; they all looked at me. "What? It's true." I mumbled. Then a loud growling sound emitted from one of us, and they all looked at me again. I raised my hands up in defense. "Hey! That actually wasn't me!" Then Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Guess I'm kinda hungry, too." He said, scratching the back of his head. Sasuke sighed and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you two. You wouldn't be able to go a day without food." Sakura said, as if she was any better. I shook my head at them.

"Whatever, I'm going to go eat. Guess I'll meet up with you guys later." I said, already moving away. I sensed them following me reluctantly. Only Naruto got up and walked beside me.

"So, I, uh, saw you and Kiba." He said nervously. I nodded.

"Yeah. What of it?" I asked, though probably not as accusingly as I should have. Naruto shrugged.

"I don't know. I just never thought of Kiba as one to fall for a girl like you." He said nonchalantly. I glared at him sideways.

"And what kind of girl am I?" I asked, this time accusingly. He laughed.

"Oh, nothing. Just the type that usually takes what they want and runs off. But I'm not saying you are, I just meant that's what you seem like from a first impression." He added defensively. Good thing he did, too, 'cause my fist was clenched about to raise some hell. But I relaxed it and thought about what he said for a moment.

"Really? You got that just from looking at me?" I asked, truly curious. He nodded, but waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah, but forget about it. I can already tell that's not who you are." He said; I smiled, making him smile, too. It wasn't very often I got a compliment like that from anyone but Kiba (and Akamaru, if I interpreted his yips correctly).

And then Pinkie was there on my other side, surprisingly leaving Sasuke behind to follow. "So, you and Kiba were a real thing, then?" She asked. Unlike Naruto's innocent curiosity, she sounded a bit stuck up and nosy. I didn't miss her past-tense, though.

"Yeah, we were." That caught Naruto's attention again.

"What do you mean, 'were'?" He asked; Sakura sighed dramatically.

"Honestly, Naruto. Would it hurt you to at least try to understand relationships? You're as clueless as a rock." She said, again in that stuck-up sort of tone. I stuck my hands in my pockets, unwilling to start taking swings at my teammates. Naruto shrugged.

"Fine, then enlighten me." He said; I smiled a little. He was clueless, but at least he wasn't as annoying as billboard brow over there. Okay, no more of that. Ino's name-calling was not going to catch on.

"It's so obvious. Kiba's on a different squad. They'd never have any time together, and even if they did it'd be too little to sustain a steady relationship." Sakura explained. I had to admit, for a pink-loving, snotty biznatch, she knew her relay-info. Just then, a new dark shape appeared next to Naruto. I glanced over to see it was Sasuke. Guess he didn't like being left behind to trail along or something. Or maybe there was more to him than it seemed and he wanted to listen in to some possibly juicy gossip. Well, if that was the case, he was going to be disappointed.


	5. Explanations

**Explanations**

* * *

"Hey, there's the cafeteria. Let's eat. I think we're having hamburgers today." Naruto said excitedly. He walked ahead, and I followed close behind. He was right - I could already smell the delicious scent of cooked burger meat. It was to me what pollen is to a bee; way too tempting to ignore. Naruto and I practically ran through the lunch-line to hurry and sit down and get to eating.

By the time Sasuke and Sakura were settled at our table, we were halfway through with our mouths stuffed. Sakura looked a bit disgusted, and I had a moment of normal-teenager-ness. I swallowed what was in my mouth and let out a huge belch that was building up in my throat. Naruto nearly coughed up what he was chewing from laughter. Once he recovered himself, we fist-bumped. Even Sasuke cracked a smile, but Sakura just looked at me like I was some sort of alien beast or something. In some ways, I was, but still.

"Come on, lighten up. You gotta learn to enjoy life sometimes, Pinkie." I said, using my nickname for her. That only made her even angrier. Her anger equaled my amusement, so I let her rant.

"You have no manners whatsoever, and that was really gross." She said, waving her hand in front of her nose. A hand suddenly rested on my shoulder as a figure joined our table next to me.

"That's one of the reasons I love her." Kiba said, Akamaru barking happily along. Sakura stared at him, as did I, but for a much different reason, probably.

"You're kidding." She said, but didn't phrase it as a question. Kiba shrugged and chomped into his burger, while Akamaru worked on another. Damn cheat - dog gets an extra one. Probably for free, too.

"S'true." He said around a mouthful. I smiled and shook my head, continuing on my own burger, which I'd miraculously forgotten about for a second there. I kept an eye on Naruto. Knowing him, he'd probably steal it out of my hands. Well, I wouldn't blame him. They do not give us enough to eat here. Bet the more experienced Genin get more food...

"Yo, Kiba." Said a familiar voice as another someone sat down. It was Shikamaru, predictably (who else do you think would say "yo"?). The two fist-bumped and Shikamaru slid down beside Sakura, causing her to scoot over unwillingly. Why did I feel like I knew where this was going?

"Shikamaru! We're supposed to be planning, remember?" Another familiar, complaining voice appeared at the front of the table, glaring at her teammate. Shikamaru shrugged, taking a bite of his burger.

"Not my problem at the moment." He said through a mouthful. I swear, in some ways, him and Kiba were like twins. In others (meaning looks) Kiba won out by a long shot. Ino groaned.

"You are no help. How are we ever supposed to get anywhere with you slacking all day? Not to mention food-boy stuffing his face full of grease-coated potatoes over there." Ino said, taking a seat next to Kiba and nodding over at a different table. Sure enough, there Choji was, his hand half-deep in a chip bag and munching away. He was sitting with Hinata and Shino, who were probably the only ones taking this seriously. Besides Sakura being an annoying student-teacher, and Ino complaining as usual, no one else really seemed to want to plan ahead.

"So, wait, are you two still a thing?" Naruto asked, openly confused. Kiba laughed.

"Until actual training starts, yeah, we are. No sense in wasting any precious time, right?" Kiba said, putting his arm around me. I snuggled against him, now that my burger was safe inside my intestines (O.o). Naruto sighed, still probably completely lost on the whole relationship deal.

"Exactly, Kiba." A smooth, confident voice came from behind us, and I knew at once it was no student. We all turned to see who the speaker was.  
She was clearly a Jounin. She had on a dress made of what seemed to be bandage material, and her arms and legs were wrapped in the stuff. Her dark black hair fell in a wavy curtain down her shoulders, framing her red eyes nicely. Still, she looked very fierce. And she was looking right at me.

"How studious of you to note the time. I'm told you were assigned to your own squads, am I correct?" We nodded. "Well, then shouldn't you be following the rest of Iruka's orders and staying with your own squads from now on?" I gulped, though I'm sure everyone felt just as intimidated as I was of her.

Without a word, Kiba moved away to join his group, and Choji, having heard the entire one-sided conversation, moved down the table to join with Ino and Shikamaru. That left Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and I alone with the Jounin. She still watched me with those cold, red eyes.

"As for you four, I'd suggest you take extra care around the other squads if you know what's best for you. My squad, the one with Kiba, is not to be distracted by you or your petty emotions. Do you understand me?" I swallowed hard and nodded. She then walked away, toward a table full of Jounin and Chuunin. One of which was Iruka, who was looking at me sadly. I took a deep breath and turned around, ready to face the inevitable wrath from my new teammates (or Sakura, at least).

"Way to go, Viatrix. You got us in trouble and we haven't even started training." She scolded me. Normally, I would've told her off, but I just ducked my head and stayed quiet. Turns out, I needn't have worried.

"Hey! It's not her fault. Weren't you the one going on about how love matters or something? How is it I'm the one who understands this better than you do?" Naruto said angrily. We all looked up at him - he didn't look embarrassed at all, he just kept glaring at Sakura. "That was Kurenai Sensei, and I'll admit, she is a bit strict, but I doubt even she couldn't see what's between those two. I'll bet she'll drop the scary-sensei act sooner or later. You can count on it." He said, folding his arms. Apparently he'd finished his meal, too.

To my utter surprise, Sakura hung her head this time. "You're right Naruto." Now it was her turn to get all the stares. She glanced up at me. "I'm sorry, Viatrix. It's just that, well...I've never had anything like you two do, so I guess I can't really understand what there is to it. You two seem really happy together, and I shouldn't be encroaching on that. I'm sorry." She said again. I was at loss of what to say.

"Well, if that's over, can we get on with the actual planning?" Sasuke asked impatiently. I realized he hadn't even touched his burger; neither had Sakura. I thought there must be two completely different reasons for that.

"Yeah, I guess." I said, resting my elbows on the table. Sakura nodded and Naruto shrugged, but none of us said anything. Fortunately, Sasuke (predictably) saved the day.

"Alright, so let's start off with how we're going to deal with our sensei." He began, folding his arms on the table. We all paid ready attention. "Luckily, we're not getting Kurenai - she's apparently with Kiba and his squad. That leaves four others. Guy sensei is out; he leads the original Genin. Iruka instructs the Academy students, and so that leaves us with two. There's Asuma, and Kakashi." We nod, understanding, when he paused for it. "From what I've heard, Kakashi has never, not once, passed any of his squad members. If either of the two squads left - ours and Ino's - get him, we're sure to fail. There are some other Chuunin, but the ones sitting at that table are most likely all assigned to us. That means they're intentionally planning on dumping one of us. To deal with the worst, let's wonder about Kakashi.

"His test must be either incredibly difficult, or so simple nobody sees through it. My guess is simple. People would be expecting a hard challenge, and look past the little things it could still be. So they'd be focused on trying to find some deeper meaning and over-looking the important small stuff. If we don't do that, we might stand a chance." We nodded in agreement. Wow, Sasuke really knew his stuff. "Now, onto Asuma.

"I don't really know much about him; he keeps quiet. He appears pretty laid back, but that could easily be a trick. Kurenai looks elegant and fragile, you've seen that's completely off. Asuma's probably the hard-forced one of all of them. His test could turn out to be just plain difficult, so let's bet on that. From how many cigarettes he's already gone through, I'd say he either has an ordinary problem, or stresses a lot. If it's stress, he must be thinking about how his squad will react to the test. In that case, it's probably going to be difficult anyway. Another stress would be setting it all up. If it takes that much out of him, it has to be something pretty darn important, so we have to keep on our toes. Everyone got that?" We nodded once more. Sasuke leaned back in his seat. "Alright then. Viatrix, go."

I started at his sudden command. Me? What was I supposed to say? I guess I'll just rattle out whatever comes to mind - seems like Sasuke was doing just that, only more...expertly.


	6. Haunting Memories

**ATTENTION: A picture of Pallox (Viatrix's demon-ninja hound) has been put on my personal tumblr blog: sent-to-hell. tumblr. other-ocs (add "com" and "/" after "tumblr."and remove spaces). You'll also be able to read a little about the rest of my OCs there, though the information could be changed at any time.  
**

* * *

**Haunting Memories**

* * *

"Um, well, I guess now that that's covered, we can move on to team strategy." He nodded for me to go ahead. "Teamwork might not be such a bad idea in Asuma's case. I'm still kind of fuzzy on Kakashi, though. Like you said, his test could be either or, so it's probably best to just keep our eyes open. Anyway, back to Asuma. Like you pointed out, he seems like a fake laid-back, stressful smoker. That may or may not be good in our case.

"It's very possible he could just be high half the time and set up a half-ass test and not even know it, but I somewhat doubt that will happen, so moving on. Depending on the situation, which, by the looks of it..." I glanced over my shoulder to look at the sensei, who seemed completely oblivious to the world "won't be as hard as we think it will be, teamwork, like I mentioned, will be our best option. More than likely it'll be a puzzle." Naruto stopped me there.

"Whoa, whoa, what makes you think it'll be a puzzle?" He asked. I nodded back toward the table, and they all looked this time. Asuma's facial expression was that you might find on an astronomer deep in thought of a constellation formation or something. There's definitely something interesting going on in his head, that much is clear. They turned back, nodding.

"Right, so, probably a puzzle. That means a certain type of strategy should be used. What I'm thinking is a shock and awe plan of attack." Sasuke tilted his head back a little. "One of us, someone with a really good substitution jutsu, could go in and completely fool him or whatever he sets us up with. Then, after the substitution, a clone jutsu, just to throw him off.

"Then two of us would follow in behind, going on instinct alone and hitting him with our best shot. The first attacker will back off and the last one jumps in at the last second and finishes it off. Depending on if there's something extra needed, the first attacker could go in again and work the rest."

Sakura was staring at me like I was a whole new person she'd never even seen before. "You're brilliant, you know that?" She said in a hushed voice. I smiled and cracked my knuckles reflexively.

"Well, you never know 'til you try, right?" I said, nearly modest. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, my turn." She said. "I have a theory on Kakashi. Going with what Sasuke said, about it probably being so simple it's difficult, teamwork might not be in our favor, technically speaking." Sasuke leaned forward again.

"How so?" He asked.

"Well, if it really is that easy, all we have to do is find his weakness. Depending on what it is will differ our plan of attack in many different ways. Say, oh, I don't know, it's the colour blue or something. Maybe it has some kind of negative effect on him, making him vulnerable for a surprise attack. But, he'd obviously be ready alert for anything, if I'm calculating things correctly." Sakura said smugly. "That's where the one-man-act comes in. We could all just go in on our own accords, doing whatever we think necessary. He'll find this pretty odd, if he expects teamwork at all, and not understand that we're working alone until, finally, one of us catches him off guard." She crossed her arms proudly and waited.

Naruto let out a breath. "Okay, I'll go. I don't think a one-man show is the way to go [unintended rhyme]. Kakashi will definitely catch on to that, probably on the first couple of attacks, if that. Something tells me he's way more insightful than he looks." He said. "So my thought is this: if we could devise a way to get one of us behind his outer guard, then we could attack from the inside, so to speak, and the outside. And by inside, I mean either his mental security or even his physical guard.

"If one of us had a power to do something mentally confusing to him, that'd be great. But if we don't, then physical is the best way to go. So one of us gets in, right? First thing we do is get him off the ground. He can't dodge in the air, so if we launch an aerial assault, he'll never see it coming. And that, if I do say so myself, is a pretty good plan." He said, leaning back as well and smiling to himself.

"Great. So all we have are multiple possibilities of how to beat the tests, which was basically where we started. That was a good waste of twenty minutes." Sasuke said, annoyed. I looked at the clock on the wall. He was right. We'd gone through twenty minutes simply listing off ideas that we had all had at some point anyway. Perfect. That really got us somewhere.

Then the bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

My squad and I stood to leave. Kiba and I shared only a longing glance as we left through different doors. Once outside, I got drenched by the rain I hadn't realized was falling. We all immediately tried to cover our heads, but it was no use. It was coming down hard, and we'd all be soaked once we got home. I guess it's a perfect ending to a crappy day.

"Hey, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Naruto shouted as he jogged away, waving.

"See ya, Sasuke!" Sakura giggled before sprinting away as well. Sasuke shook his head, then looked at me.

"Guess I'll see you 'round." He said; I nodded. We started walking in opposite directions, and I caught a look at his back as he turned away. There was a symbol on it - a red half-circle on top of another white half-circle with a tail or something sticking out the bottom. I recognized it as the Uchiha clan symbol, and a sudden wave of agony washed over me.

But it was more of a mental agony, for Sasuke. I remembered the day it happened...the day his entire clan was killed. Not to mention my own.

* * *

It was a dark and rainy day, much like this one. I was running home after school (I'd been in a sort of pre-school back then since I was only seven), hopelessly covering my side-bag from the rain. Inside was a special present for Mom and Dad, and another one for my little sister Tsubaki.

Mom and Dad's present was a certain decorative bowl I knew they'd been wanting lately. It had symbols inscribed on the rim of the wooden bowl that represented our clan - my great grandmother, specifically. And Tsubaki's present was a detailed painting of the flower her name stood for, a camellia.

It was for no reason in particular, just that I was able to get the items on that day and wanted to surprise my family. I just didn't know I'd be the one getting the surprise.

When I'd arrived in the part of the Leaf Village that my clan lived in, it had been eerily quiet. No one was outside, which wasn't all that unusual given the rain. But there were no lights on inside the houses, and none of the usual muffled chatter of families indoors. A single sound echoed through the town - that of a wind chime nearby.

The whole scene was sketchy, and a sudden bubble of fear rose within me for no reason. I had begun to slow down, but picked up the pace at the sound. Soon I was running again, sprinting toward my house at the end of the street. Not one light shone through the windows, even though I knew everyone must've been home.

I slid open the paper door outlined with wood and stepped inside, taking off my sandals once sheltered from the rain. I gently sat my side-bag on a low table, careful not to ruin any of the items inside. I crept through the seemingly empty house, which was dark as could be. The only light was that of the occasional lightning flash outside, which only heightened my weariness.

I found my way to the stairs and gripped the banister as I made my way up. Not a sound except for my own footsteps, giving me that creepy feeling that anything could jump out at me at any given moment.

But I made it up the stairs with no trouble. My parents' room was to the left; Tsubaki's to the right; and my own just ahead. I turned right first. Tsubaki's door was cracked open, like it would be if she was asleep, since she was afraid of the dark. Perhaps Mom and Dad sent her to bed for the storm, since the thunder and lightning probably scared the crap out of her.

I silently pushed open the door, just as a lightning flash lit up the room. I froze, my eyes wider than I thought was possible. Her bed was empty, except for the small stuffed panda bear she always slept with in the center of her made bed. But the floor...it was covered in what looked, and smelled, like blood.

The lightning flashed again, and this time I was sure. I threw the door all the way open, only to have my horrors realized. There Tsubaki was, seemingly fast asleep.

Only her throat was slit and dried blood surrounded the wound.

She lay in a pool of her own blood, not a sign of anyone else having been in there. Tears immediately welled in my eyes. _'This...this can't be happening...'_ I had thought. _'It's a dream, a nightmare. I just have to wake up'._

But my tears ran smooth and fast, dripping off my chin and splashing on the floor, making the slight sound deafening in the stillness of the house. I had to run, hide. What if...what if the killer was still in the house? Having waited for me to arrive so they could kill me off, too...

I backed out of the room, only to be blocked by a warm, firm body behind me. I spun around, impossible hopes rising in me that it could be Mom or Dad, but I should have known better. No, it wasn't a familiar face.

He was tall and lean, and was looking down on me with two red eyes. He wore what I knew to be an ANBU Black Ops uniform. In his hand was a bloody knife, and I knew my own fate had arrived. This man was going to kill me.

Without a word I collapsed onto my knees on the floor, my head bowed. I knew this was it, that there was nothing I could possibly do. I was merely seven, not nearly strong enough to take on a...what? Chuunin? Jounin? Probably some super-buff rogue ninja from another village that somehow infiltrated the Leaf. I wasn't even a qualified upperclassman yet, much less a full ninja. I had no chance of escape.

But then the man knelt in front of me, and I rose my head to meet his red eyes. Sharingan... The word whispered its way into my mind under no pretense. The Sharingan was a power only known to the Uchiha clan. Of that much, I was certain, although I was sure I'd never even heard the word before.

"I will let you go, but only if you promise me something." The man said in a raspy, hushed voice. I listened in silent fear. "Grow up strong, and find me. Avenge your fallen clan and take up for their name. You are the last, and will be the only. Now go, run, and never return to this place, Viatrix. Go." He stood, and stepped aside.

I didn't have to be told twice. With one last, fear-filled glance at him, I took off, down the stairs and out the door. I didn't have to be told that my parents had been killed, too. He'd pretty much given me that information.

_"You are the last, and will be the only,"_ he had told me. _"Avenge your fallen clan."_ Oh, believe me. I will.


	7. Strange People

**Strange People**

* * *

Just then, I awoke out of my trip down Memory Lane. But it hadn't been of my own accord, something startled me. I looked around, realizing that I'd been standing there in the rain for probably a good ten minutes. But no one was around, which was weird. I know I'd heard something, but everything was silent.

Then there was a shuffle of gravel behind me, and I whirled around, kunai raised. But I lowered it as I realized who it was, though I wasn't very sure whether or not that was a good idea.

It was Neji Hyuga, the Genin that had stared at me during the initiation speech or whatever. The one with the blind-yet-all-seeing gaze. Hinata's brother.

"What do you want?" I asked, annoyed. Like I needed someone sneaking up on me while I was reliving such a painful memory? Yeah, that would've ended well, if he hadn't been who he was. Neji should know better. I had a feeling he could see more than he should with those eyes.

"You're shivering." He said simply, taking a step closer. I was about to protest, but he lifted a warm coat around me before I could. I looked at him skeptically, and the slightest of smiles tugged at the corner of his lips. "I would suggest that you don't wander alone on a day like this. I shall accompany you home." He said, except he didn't ask for my opinion. He just started walking ahead of me.

I stood for a second, then followed him tentatively. What was with him? "You know, I can get home on my own." I said stubbornly as I caught up with him. I didn't look at his face. I heard his low chuckle.

"Yes, I'm completely aware of that. But I wanted to talk to you." He said casually, though I could hear the sudden intensity ignite in his voice. I walked a little closer, knowing that this was to be a private conversation. I couldn't see five feet in front of me, so anyone could be listening in and we wouldn't know it. Even if I have the best senses around.

"About what?" I asked in a low voice, though not quite a whisper. Neji matched my tone.

"It's about you and your squad." He said. "The normal capacity is three, but yours was assigned four. I know Iruka mentioned something about the three of you helping out Naruto the most, but I can't help but feel like there's something more to it." I nodded, not missing a word he said.

"I know what you mean. I mean, Naruto, predictably, did have the worst grades in class, but does he really need the top three students on his squad? Something's up." I agreed. To be honest, a little of that curiosity did cross my mind when Iruka Sensei had announced our group. I just hadn't known what to think of it at the time. Now it seemed much more important.

"I think it has something to do with you, rather than Naruto." Neji said. I glanced at him sideways.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, a little taken aback. It was Naruto with the bad grades, not me. Sasuke and I had the best, so it was only natural that at least one of us would be paired with him. Maybe I hadn't been expecting both, including Sakura, but still. Why was this about me?

"You see, the Hokage has to agree to pass certain rules and regulations in this village." Neji said. "And so he must've had good reason to allow four members instead of three for your squad. And since Sasuke doesn't seem the type to have something to influence that, I thought of you, naturally. You're the only other top Genin, Viatrix. Why wouldn't they have put you with another slacker, like Shikamaru? Maybe because they think you'll be more useful with those three." I thought about that for a moment.

Before I could respond to his claim, he held a hand out to stop me. I looked up to see the door to my apartment in front of us. We looked at each other.

"This conversation is far from over, Viatrix. But, for now, get inside and out of this rain. Wouldn't want someone as special as you catching pneumonia." He said before turning and walking away. I didn't have it in me (or the right mind) to stop him and ask questions.

But at his remark, I suddenly found myself very cold and wet. I realized I still had his jacket, even though it wasn't helping much. I thought about trying to hunt him down and give it to him first, but shrugged and decided against it. If he'd wanted it back, he would've taken it. I unlocked the door and went inside.

I was immediately tackled by a red and black fur-ball, whose claws instantly latched onto my shoulders. I was knocked against the wall, laughing. I kicked the door shut with my foot and carried Pallox further into the apartment. He was whimpering and began to lick my face, which made me wonder.

"Hey, what is it, boy? You miss me?" I asked in a baby voice as I sat on the couch and cuddled him against me. He just whined again and curled into a spiky ball on my lap. I smiled and started petting him methodically. This seemed to calm him down, and his familiar wheeze-snoring eased my worries, as well. Whatever had freaked him out was gone now, and I'll think on it later.

After I was sure he was fast asleep, I carefully lifted him off of me and onto a little rug on the floor. He didn't stir, which didn't surprise me. That hound could sleep through a hurricane, given the chance. Not much of a guard dog, but still fierce when he's awake.

I got up and left the living room area I was in. I slid the coat off my shoulders and placed it in the empty laundry basket. Yeesh, that reminded me. There was an over-flowing hamper in my bedroom that I needed to wash. Sigh, good thing I grew up fast, huh?

I leisurely walked up the stairs, into the second floor of my apartment. I thought about this place and how I got it, for about the seventy-billionth time since I began living here. After my clan had gotten murdered by whoever that man was (who was probably joined by some accomplices), the owner of a few apartments basically let me stay here for free. The owner was a friend of my family in particular, so that was a stroke of luck.

Anyway, all I had to do was help out down at the Ramen Shop to stay here, even though the owner was pretty lenient on whether or not I showed up for volunteer hours. Still, I enjoyed the work, so I gladly did that and stayed here without paying a cent. I got paid half of what I made regularly down at the Shop, since the other half went to the owner for rent. With what I had, it's enough to sustain myself.

The owner took care of the electricity bills and such, and because of that, I didn't go overboard on things like that. I rarely ever watched the dusty old TV in the living room, so that's a bonus for him. All I ever used my money on are ninja supplies and food and drinks and stuff. I bought my own ninja-hound chow for Pallox (even though it's technically not allowed to have a pet here, he let it slide, because of how good a resident I was). And I even sent a bit of whatever's left over to a local charity. That left the little rest to buy luxury items, which was very little.

I made it to my room, and immediately spotted the growing pile of dirty clothes over in the corner. I walked over to it cautiously, worried something might start growing out of it or something (yeah, I'll admit, I'm bad about my laundry). Once I was sure the coast was clear, I leaned over and started piling things into my arms.

"Jeez, I hope I'll be able to find the hamper under all this mess." I said to myself as I left with the first load. I had to crane my neck around to make sure I didn't fall down the stairs, but I made it alright. I went ahead and tossed the clothes into the washer before I even thought about putting Neji's coat in there. No way did I want his stuff getting all contaminated with mine. He'll probably be mad I even washed it for him. You know, 'cause some people don't like certain detergents or something.


	8. New Discoveries!

**New Discoveries**

* * *

I poured the blue stuff in after filling it up with water and closed the lid, turning it on. I wasn't sure if I'd mixed whites with darks, but I was proud of myself for finally getting around to it. I walked on back through the house, then felt a feeling of shame wash over me. I held my hand over my face.

"I would drop clothes on the floor, wouldn't I?" I scolded myself as I made my way to the clump that I hadn't caught before. I was about to reach for it, but jumped back, squealing, as something inside it moved. "Okay, I did not actually think something could even grow in that stuff." I said, putting as much distance between me and the living laundry as possible. I backed up into a corner, which was probably the worst idea ever since the clump started moving closer to me.

I plastered myself against the wall, but it didn't do any good. It was nearly to my one grounded foot, and I was about to piss my pants with fear. Okay, I'll admit, I don't get scared of a lot of things anymore. An armed ninja, I'll take. A rabid wild dog, sure. A man-eating beast? Why the hell not? But living laundry? Just get me the hell out of here.

And then it touched my toe, and I swear, my body had a heart-attack/spasm/universal hiccup, because I was halfway across the house in one second flat. Only thing is...it grabbed onto my foot.

I started kicking and squealing and flailing my arms helplessly, too disgusted to flick it off. Fortunately, my Savior Pallox awoke just then (though I was positive it had nothing to do with my distress). He caught sight of my struggling and pounced on my leg. He growled and dug his teeth into the laundry-beast, tossing his head and throwing it up in the air.

Then the clothes detached themselves and I saw what it had really been that was attacking me.

A damn blue fox was in there.

But, no matter the recently passed events, it had to be the cutest darn thing I'd ever seen. It was mostly blue, but its feet looked like they had little black socks on, and there was a white stripe on its head. And the tip of his bushy tail was black, too. As he landed on his feet, he looked at me curiously (I was just going to call it a him for now). I tentatively reached down and let him sniff my fingers.

Then he brushed his whole head against my hand affectionately, and a huge "Awwwwwwwwww" escaped from my mouth, unpermitted. I picked him up with both hands and held him up close to my face. His broom-tail wagged adorably, and he swatted his paw gently in my direction. It was too much. I gave in and hugged him.

"I am totally going to name you Reedee!" I said as he cuddled against my chest. He licked my nose and I laughed. Wow, I hadn't laughed or smiled this much in one day for a while. Guess it was just a good day, huh?

* * *

A while later, I found out he was a she, but it didn't change much. Reedee was a neutral name (or it was now), so it still worked. Now all I had to do was figure out how it got into (or even stayed alive in) my dirty laundry hamper.

"So, what were you doing in my house, Reedee?" I asked, as if she could talk back. But, no, she just crawled onto my lap and rolled over onto her back, revealing a white stomach. I tickled it, and she kicked her leg. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Just be happy Pallox didn't rip you to shreds, even though that was his job." I glared at the demon-ninja hound, and he just panted in my face, sending waves of disgusting dog-breath all over me.

I just shook my head and smiled. "You two are so going to be best friends. Who knows? Maybe I'll get little demon-ninja hound/blue fox puppy things. Wonder how much those would go for?" I teased playfully, scratching them both behind their ears. Then I thought for a moment. "Yeah, demon-ninja foxes. The new breed of the century." I mimed outlining words in the sky, as if their names had been shone up there. That would be so entirely cool, though...

I shot up (I'd been lying down and letting my animals crawl on me) at the sound of knocking on the door, causing Reedee (or RD) to tumble down from my chest to my lap. Who in the heck would be out in this weather? Not to mention the hour.

I carefully placed RD and Pallox off of me and stood up. I checked the peep-hole first, only to find some stranger-dude waiting at the door. I cracked it open. "Who are you? What do you want?" I asked grudgingly. I didn't like strangers visiting here. It was just...weird. But, this stranger in particular had a certain...quality about him I liked. I just wasn't sure what that quality was, exactly.

"Oh, hi. I was just wondering if you'd seen my pet fox." He said. He held up a picture, though I already knew what fox he'd been talking about. I sighed, but took a good look at his face, first. No sense in not being too picky about the people you just give animals away to, even if they claimed to be the owners. Why would an animal run away if it didn't have a reason?

The guy (or boy, really) had short brown hair and blue eyes. He had a set of headphones (the big, circular ones) hanging around his neck, and wore a black shirt over a red one and jeans. Hmm...He looked normal enough. But perhaps a little too normal. Then I realized something. He had an electronic device near his head, and it was raining, and he was standing out in the rain.

I threw the door open and practically dragged him inside, surprising him a little. I glared at him as he gaped at me. "What's the matter with you? Don't you know those things could short out any minute? You don't just wear headphones out in the rain, kid. You're gonna barbeque yourself." I said angrily, even though I technically had no reason to be angry. Except for the fact he was going to take away my cute new fox. Well, take it back anyway.


	9. Down the Drain

**New Discoveries Down the Drain...**

* * *

"Oh, well, sorry. I didn't seem to be having any problems with them." He said, pulling the headphones off and examining them. Then he looked back up. "Oh, and about my fox...?" I rolled my eyes and marched past him, to the couch I saw RD burrowing into. "Oh! Thank you for finding her!" The boy said as I gently handed her to him. I continued to glare.

"Why'd she run away?" I asked without any pretense. He blinked at me, then laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head while holding RD (or whatever name he had given her to start with) with his other hand.

"Oh, that. Well, you see, Fitly here's a special kind of fox, as I'm sure you've already noticed." He said, almost proudly. "She likes to run off and 'hunt down'," he air quoted the words "troublemakers. Only problem is, she keeps making friends with them instead of turning them in or something." He said, smiling fondly at his fox, apparently named Fitly.

"Well, how come she was hiding from you when you came in?" I asked, not exactly ready to let this kid, who may or may not, really be RD, er, Fitly's owner.

"She knows she's not supposed to be around strangers. But, once she finds someone, they're not really a stranger anymore to her. So, any friend of Fitly's is a friend of mine. I'm Hiroshi." He said, holding out his free hand. I took it cautiously.

"Viatrix." I said, then quickly changed the subject. "If she's supposed to hunt down troublemakers, how do you know I'm not a troublemaker?" I asked, though the sarcasm in my voice may have been a little too obvious to make my words even slightly intimidating. Hiroshi laughed.

"Believe me, she'd tell the difference. She may make friends with nearly anyone she sees, but she knows a bad person when she does happen to come across one." He said. "And, actually, she seems to really like you." He said, setting Fitly down, who immediately ran and spider-crawled or something up my legs and onto my shoulder. I laughed and scratched behind her ears, which she...purred at? Whatever, it was cute. "See? What'd I tell ya?"

I was about to say something back (a good something, mind you) but there was another, frantic knock on the door. Hiroshi got a little nervous. "Oh, that would be my brothers." He said quietly, though didn't make any move to get the door. I set Fitly down and answered it myself.

Sure enough, there were two, slightly older guys standing there, looking worried. One was clearly younger than the other, but noticeably older than Hiroshi. The younger of the two had shaggy black hair and dark, charcoal eyes. He wore a black shirt and an open brown jacket over-top, along with some similar jeans as Hiroshi's. The older (the oldest, I guessed) had slightly shorter black hair and brown eyes with curved glasses. He wore a simple black, half-sleeved shirt and jeans, though was clearly much more mature out of the three. Oh great, three cute guys, right here in my apartment. Well, two were outside in the doorway, but still.

"Oh, hi. You must be Hiroshi's brothers. He's in here, please come in." I said, as politely (and retardedly) as I could manage. The older nodded respectfully as the other just marched in.

"Hiroshi, damn you!" The middle brother yelled. "You can't just run off like that! Good thing you found Fitly here, or else who knows what could've happened to you!" Even though he still looked like he had a lot more rant left in him, the older one put a hand on his shoulder and stopped anymore words coming out. He looked at me apologetically.

"I'm very sorry to intrude, Miss. It's just that our brother here has a habit of wandering off, just like his pet." He shot daggers with his eyes behind his glasses towards the youngest of them. "But I'm very glad he was able to find it here. You seem to have it all under control." I smiled and nodded.

"Yes, thank you. And, it's no trouble at all. It was just really pouring out there, and I wasn't sure how reliable those headphones of his were." We both glared at his brother, who continued to inspect his devices. "Actually, it looks like the rain won't be letting up anytime soon. You guys look drenched. Would you like to stay and dry off? Maybe a cup of hot cocoa?" I offered. He smiled, obvious temptation on his face, but shook his head.

"No, we couldn't ask that of you. It's bad enough you had to deal with him already." He nodded toward Hiroshi without looking away from me. I smiled...again.

"No, think nothing of it. I'll go get some towels and fix up a few cups." I said, not really waiting for an answer. I made my way to the close-by pantry and dug out five or six towels, and handed them to him, as he took them graciously.

"Thank you." He said as he passed them out to his brothers. They didn't argue as they dried their hair and took seats on a part of the floor that was just wood planks. Well, at least they had enough mind not to soak up my couch and chairs.

I went into the kitchen and pulled out three mugs. Then I thought about it and got down another one, too. I'd had my fair share of rain today, too. And Neji's coat really hadn't helped all that much, what with it not being water-proof and all. Still, his thoughts had been in the right place, at least.

A few minutes later, after putting together the mix for the cocoa and warming it up, I brought the mugs back on a tray. Each of the boys had a towel wrapped around their shoulders, and they were slumped against the wall in the corner. They nodded their thank yous as they carefully took their mug. I sat on the corner of the coffee table, feeling a little uncomfortable just sitting silently with the three boys.


	10. Training Partner

**Training Partner**

* * *

Fortunately, the oldest started conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry. You must excuse my rudeness. I'm Hisoka, and these are my brothers, Haruki, and Hiroshi." He said, gesturing to each one as he said their name. They nodded and waved a little in response.

"It's alright. I'm Viatrix. I'm not sure if you're ninja yourselves, but I'm a Genin in training. But, if you know anything about the people I train with, you'll know rudeness is not exactly a big matter at the Academy." I said; he smiled. Wow, that really lit up his face in a whole different way.

"Yes, I know about the students at the Academy." He said. "I'm a Genin, too, even though I don't look like it. Oh, and so are my brothers." They nodded happily at that. Then Haruki spoke up.

"Yeah, except we're just beginners, too. Well, Hisoka's got a few years on us, obviously, but still. We're all pretty good ninja." He said proudly. Funny, both and he and his brother got that same determined look in their eye when they spoke with pride. Must be a family thing.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm 10, Haruki's 13, and Hisoka's 16." Hiroshi said. Well, he did seem that young, and Haruki did look about my age. Hisoka was definitely older, regardless.

"Yeah, he's 16 alright. And he's still not a Chuunin." Haruki mocked. Hisoka punched his shoulder playfully; his brother returned it. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance this year. You know you'll have to make it this time." He said cheerfully. Wow, 16 and still a Genin? I guess there was no age when it came to ninja ranks.

"Is there any specific reason you haven't passed the Chuunin Exams?" I asked curiously, even though I knew it was a little personal. Still, he shrugged.

"I tried once or twice, failed, and haven't really gone for it again in a while. Guess I'm just not meant to be a ninja." He said, almost regretfully. No, I suppose to right word would be remorse. He clearly wanted to become a Chuunin, he just didn't think he could. That was depressing.

"Hey, don't feel bad." I said, surprising not only everyone else in the room but myself as well. "Sometimes these things take time. I'll admit I don't know what it's like to lag behind that much, but I know it shouldn't be something you just give up on. Don't you like the way of the ninja? Or is it just uninteresting to you?" I asked, though I probably should have worded that differently. He looked almost offended.

"No! No, of course not! I mean, of course I love being a ninja. I'm just no good at it. If I could pass the exams, I'd keep going. But I just can't for some reason." He said, miserably sipping his still steaming cocoa.

"Hey, wait a minute." Hiroshi said, looking at me intently. "I know you! You're that girl that tied with that Uchiha kid in the Genin grading scores! Am I right?" He asked; I nodded slowly. "I got it! You could tutor Hisoka! Or, train, more like it." He said, smiling brightly. We all laughed a little.

"Please, Hiroshi. Like Hisoka would take training from a girl. Even if she did get the best scores. It'd be better to try asking that Uchiha kid." Haruki said, elbowing his older brother. "Ain't that right, Hisoka?" Then he turned to me. "Don't take this offensively or anything, but Hisoka would rather make out with a girl than take orders from one. He's probably got the hots for you already." He said, making Hiroshi laugh and Hisoka turn red in either anger or embarrassment. Maybe both.

"Oh, shut up. I'm not like that." He said defensively, though he turned away and wouldn't look me in the eyes anymore. I felt my own blush creeping up. "Besides, she's 13. It'd be completely insane, even if I was attracted to her." Then he went wide-eyed and finally looked at me. "Not that you're not, like, good looking. I just, I mean I'm not, like -" Haruki cut him off with his mocking laughter.

"Oh man, you are not good at this, brother." He said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Hisoka shook it off, turning away again. Haruki looked at me seriously for a moment. "See, the thing is, he really does try to keep himself in check. He's that goody-goody boy, you know? But even he can't help but, how did he put it one day? He can't help but admire the beauty of a woman." He said, making regal hand gestures, as if he were in a play. I pursed my lips so as not to smile...or crack out laughing.

"Oh, leave him be, Haruki." Hiroshi said, though even he looked like he was about to burst. "So, if you're not the ladies' man everyone thinks you are, will you let Viatrix train you?" He said, leaning around his brother to look at his eldest sibling. Hisoka flustered for a moment, then looked pleading at me. I raised my hands in the air.

"I obviously have no say in this." I said, then raised the mug of hot cocoa to my lips, taking a nice, long sip. He sighed, raised, then dropped his hand to his lap in defeat.

"If she's okay with it, I guess I could...take some pointers or something." He said in a resigned tone. The other two high-fived and looked at me, waiting. I realized I was probably supposed to say something now. Pfft, great. The one time they let me talk and it's now.

"Oh, well, yeah. Sure, okay. I guess I could train, er, uh, point you in the right direction." I said, hurriedly correcting myself at Hisoka's dagger-like glare. Then, Hisoka seemed to notice something behind me. I turned just in time to see the wall-clock's hands land on the twelve. I turned back to see the three of them getting up. I racked my mind for something to do, but, once again, Hisoka saved me from embarrassment, whether he knew it or not.

"Thank you, Viatrix, for your hospitality." He said kindly. Then he turned to his brothers. "Why don't you two go on home while I help Viatrix clean up the mess we made." They laughed and nudged him as they walked by, but did as he said a left after a quiet thank you to me.

"You really don't have to help me. You're a guest." I said, though didn't actually decline his help. The boys had tracked in a bit of mud, and RD's, er, crap! Fitly's blue fur was all over the couch. Not to mention the damp towels the two younger ones left lying on the floor. Hisoka picked those up while I gathered the empty mugs.

"Please, it's no trouble." He said politely. It was hard to think of him the way his brothers spoke of him. He was so polite and kind, and I could hardly believe he'd rather make-out than train.

I showed him where to put the towels and put the mugs in the sink. Then I went and got a mop and a bucket of water and began sopping up the tracked-in mud. To my surprise, Hisoka took a clean towel and dried the floor as I mopped. He really was an honest gentleman.

After that, he helped me clean the dishes, even though I'd told him that it was fine and he should go on home. He just wouldn't take no for an answer. "I couldn't possibly leave you to clean up our mess," he would say. Or, "I have to pay you back for your hospitality." He was nothing like any other 16-year-old boy I'd ever seen.

Eventually, we got all the chores done together and stood kind of awkwardly in the living room. I thought maybe now he'd make a graceful and polite exit, but even he seemed at loss for words now. Oh, now I had a choice of what he does. Right. Of course.

"Well, thank you for your help, but honestly, you needn't have worried." I said. "Needn't have worried"? Who talks like that?

"Like I said, it was nothing." He said. See? What'd I tell ya? Still, I awkwardly moved to the door and he followed resolutely. He leaned against the door-frame to look at me before I closed the door.

"Is something wrong?" I asked; his lips curled up into a mischievous grin. I didn't know why, but the look in his eye made my stomach flutter.

"No, nothing at all. I was just wondering when our...training starts." He said, finally calling it for what it was. I smiled, too.

"Well, I start my own training tomorrow morning, so around late afternoon?" I suggested; he nodded and backed out of the doorway.

"Don't be late." He said over his shoulder as he walked away. Pssht. Me? Be late? Please. It was him I was worried about.

* * *

**Will be posting Hisoka, Haruki and Hiroshi on flickr, so don't forget to check them out.**


	11. Meet the Sensei

**Meet the Sensei**

* * *

The next morning, our sensei was late. Sasuke was sitting in one of the front desks, his head resting on his folded hands, propped up by his elbows. For a moment, that strange familiarity resurfaced again, and I tried desperately to place where I'd seen his face before, but not in school. It was important to remember, I knew that much.

But my train of thought was interrupted by Naruto's impatient ramblings. "Why is our sensei the latest? Everyone else got to go out with their sensei hours ago! This is so not fair." He said angrily, pulling a chair out from behind Iruka's empty desk. He put it in front of the door and held up an eraser.

Then he got up on the chair, slid open the door a little, and stuck the eraser between the edge of the door and the wall. He got down and examined his mediocre work. "Yeah, that'll teach him to be late for Naruto Uzumaki." He said confidently, hurriedly replacing the chair where it had been. Sasuke sighed and Sakura, who had been pacing the entire time, shook her head.

"Please, Naruto. Asuma and Kakashi, whichever one may turn out to be our sensei, are both skilled Jounin. Neither of them would fall for such a pathetic prank." Sasuke said calmly, eyes closed.

"You'll probably just wind up getting us all in trouble, anyways, Naruto. You always do at some point." Sakura added. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her, and she returned to gesture. 'Children,' I thought. Sasuke seemed to be having the same thought, as well.

And then we heard footsteps coming from down the empty halls. Naruto had been right about one thing - all the other Genin had taken off with their sensei a while ago. The building was otherwise empty, besides us. Well, and our yet-to-be-known sensei. Sasuke's eyes opened and he eyed the door cautiously. Sakura froze in pacing to do the same thing. Naruto just stood back, snickering. And me? I just leaned against the wall in the corner. But we were all anxious to see just what this sensei was made of.

And then a hand gripped the edge of the door. The wedged-in eraser fell as the door slid open, landing on a gray head of hair in a puff of chalk-dust. Mine and Sasuke's eyes went wide, and Sakura had to hold her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Naruto burst right out, though, not a care in the world, it seemed.

"Ahahaha! You fell for it, you fell for it! See? See? This sensei's not all that tough." Naruto teased giddily. The sensei grabbed the eraser off the top of his head and studied it with his one revealed eye. The rest of his face was hidden behind blue cloth.

Our sensei was Kakashi.

"Let's see, how can I put this?" He said to himself, tapping his chin contemplatively. "My first impression of this group...You're all idiots." He said calmly. We hung our heads in shame, though Naruto just seemed annoyed.

* * *

Kakashi, not saying a word, led us through the building and up onto a balcony. He leaned against the railing and watched us as we took our seats on the stairs in front of him. Except I waited in the shadows, leaning against the wall and watching them, instead. Then he spoke again.

"First, why don't you introduce yourselves?" He suggested in a voice that almost made him sound tired. Well, he wasn't the only one less than over-excited to be here.

"What do you mean, introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked. Kakashi, Sasuke and I all sighed at the same time, earning glares from Naruto and Sakura.

"What I mean is, tell me about yourself. Your likes, your dislikes. Your hobbies, your dream for the future. The lot." Kakashi Sensei said. This time, Naruto spoke up.

"Well, why don't you tell us about yourself first so we can see how it's supposed to go." He said. Not a bad idea, for once. We waited, listening intently. Kakashi sighed again.

"Let's see, what about me do I feel like telling you? Well, to start, my name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like...things I hate...well, I don't really feel like sharing that with you. My dreams for the future, well, I guess I've never really thought about it. As for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies." He said. *Sweatdrops*

"That was completely useless." Sakura whispered. "All he actually told us was his name." Naruto nodded.

"Now, shall we get on with it? You, the yellow porcupine. You can start us off." Kakashi said, gesturing to Naruto. I muffled my snort and masked it with a cough, though Sakura eyed me dangerously. I could swear I saw a smile light up Kakashi Sensei's eyes.

"Oh. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "I like insta-ramen, but I really like the ramen Iruka Sensei gets me at the Ichiraku Noodle Shop." I gagged when he mentioned the insta-ramen. Eugh, those things just did not taste like ramen at all. "I don't like the time you have to wait to make the insta-ramen, though. My hobby is trying different kinds of ramen." Then he sat up straighter, and fixed his headband. "And my future dream is to become the greatest Hokage! Then, the entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important." He leaned back proudly. The look in his eye reminded me of the look those boys had gotten when they'd talked about pride and stuff. Guess the three weren't so different, if you think about it.

Kakashi thought for a moment, then looked at Sakura. "Okay, you next." He nodded, and she smiled brightly.

"I'm Sakura Haruno!" She said cheerily. I almost barfed. "What I like...um..." She glanced at Sasuke, who seemed oblivious to the world at the moment. "And, well, my hobbies are..." She actually squealed and blushed a little this time. "My dream for the future is..." I swear, she could break glass with the sound she made this time. But then she suddenly got serious. "But I really dislike Naruto!" She said, finally getting something out. It wasn't much, though. We'd all known this since forever. Sigh, Sakura might be the #1-Sasuke-Stalker. Ino's got some catching up to do.

"Very well. You can go next." He nodded at me. I pushed myself off the wall and took a step forward, my jaw set. I hadn't exactly been as giddy for this as the other two had seemed, but I was ready to share my story...or some of it, anyway.


	12. Coincidence

**Coincidence**

* * *

"I'm Viatrix Sasaki. I don't like a lot of things, but the things I do like, I don't feel like telling." Kakashi Sensei tilted his head to the side at that. "I have a lot of dislikes, such as insta. Ramen." I said, emphasizing the word and looking pointedly at Naruto, who gaped at me. "My hobbies are training as hard as I can to become a strong ninja. And I don't have a dream. The goal I have will be a reality. My goal is to avenge my clan and kill the person who murdered them." I said. Everyone looked at me. I slumped backwards and caught myself on the wall again, crossing my arms.

Kakashi Sensei paused for a moment before going on. "And, you. You can end us with a big bang, I hope." He said, though he still looked tense from my speech. I hoped he did. Sasuke leaned forward.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't exactly like anything." He said slowly. Sakura looked stricken, but stayed silent as he continued. "I don't particularly have any hobbies, but, like Viatrix, what I have is not a dream. I will make it come true. I'm going to restore my fallen clan, and destroy a certain someone." Silence. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing.

Both of their clans are dead. Someone killed them. Maybe by the same person...

More eyes on me - even Kakashi's were calculating. Yup, Sasuke did his job. He certainly did end this with a big bang. Kakashi Sensei cleared his throat, drawing all the attention back to him.

"Good. Each of you is unique and full of different ideas. We'll start your test tomorrow." He said, putting a whole new feeling in us. This is what we've been waiting for. The test to see if we really can become Genin. The final challenge to become a ninja, even at the lowest rank. Naruto grinned, teeth and everything.

"Well, what kind of test is it going to be, huh? Well, what kind?" He asked eagerly. Sakura slapped him.

"Shut up, loud-mouth! You don't just ask what the test will be. It's supposed to be a surprise!" She scolded him. He held the shoulder she hit and glared at her.

"I don't care, I wanna know. So, what is it?" He persisted. Kakashi shook his head the slightest bit.

"It's quite alright, Sakura. You'll need to know about the test, or you'll be completely unprepared tomorrow. The test will be a survival exercise." He said. Naruto looked confused. To be honest, I was little confused, too. Kakashi Sensei went ahead and explained. "I know you've already been told this, but out of the twenty-eight graduates, only ten will be accepted as Genin. What you don't know, is that the other eighteen, the ones that fail the test given by their sensei, will be sent back to the Academy to start from the top. And the chances of you failing is at least sixty-six percent." He said darkly. I gulped.

"That's insane!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought the ones that failed were just going to be held back another year, and try again. But go all the way back to the beginning? No way!" His voice was defiant, but even I could tell he was scared. We all had a huge chance of losing it all. Naruto was right. This was insane.

Still, Kakashi got up and shrugged, as if it wasn't anything important. "No matter. You might as well be prepared. Meet me at this location tomorrow morning at sunrise. Bring your ninja gear." He said, handing us each a slip of paper with x and y coordinates on it. How was I supposed to...I don't even know. I'll just ask Sasuke or something. "Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll just puke it all back up." Kakashi added before ninja-jumping out of sight. We all stared at each other. Then I remembered I actually had somewhere to be.

"Oh, uh, I'll see you guys tomorrow, alright? Bye!" I said, jogging away. I made my way out of the building, checking the clock on the way out. Crap, it was one-thirty. Hisoka was going to think I ditched out on him or something. Great, last thing I need is a bad reputation (like, being mean reputation; I wouldn't mind a tough rep). I sprinted toward my house.

* * *

When I got there, Hisoka was, miraculously, waiting in the shade by the door. He stood up when he saw me, and caught me as I collapsed in front of him. Why didn't I just ninja-run instead? Sometimes I think my brain just doesn't want to think before I do something.

"Hey, are you alright? You look completely worn out. I could come back someti-" I cut him off right there.

"No way. You're not...backing out...on me now." I said, gasping for breath. He helped lean me against the wall, and I took a deep, blissful breath. Then I stood up straight, without his help. "Okay. So let's get started." I said, motioning for him to follow me. He did, closely. He acted like he was ready to catch me again if I fell...again. I was thankful for his readiness. "Yeah, sorry I'm late, by the way. It's just, my sensei, he apparently doesn't abide by his own schedule." I said, my breath finally coming normally.

"I'm guessing you're talking about Kakashi Sensei, then." Hisoka said, his voice amused. I glanced sideways at him.

"How do you know Kakashi Sensei?" I asked, truly interested. If what Sasuke said was true, and he'd never passed a single Genin, then how would this one know about his antics?

"Well, because I was his student once." He said. I sighed, disappointed. I'd have thought Sasuke would know better. Whether or not he lied on purpose, I wasn't sure. Maybe he just hadn't ever heard of Hisoka or something. Well, whatever the reason, I was interested in Hisoka's story.

"Please, tell me more." I said sarcastically, though he knew I meant it; he laughed.

"Alright, well. It was a couple years ago, obviously. My squad and I were assigned to him, like yours was. I can't enlighten you on what the test will entail, exactly. But I can tell you it was difficult as hell to figure out at first." He said. "But, once we caught on, we passed like it was nothing. Here, just a bit of advice, don't go for the obvious. It will always lead you into a trap." He said intensely. I took note of that well, and filed it into the important-things-to-remember folder of my brain. "Anyway, once we passed, we were full-on Genin. Then, a couple years later, we took the Chuunin Exams. I was the only one in my class that failed, and got sent back to the Student Academy.

The second time, I was assigned to Kurenai Sensei. Never got to see Kakashi again, but I know what you mean about his time-schedule being a little off." He said conclusively. I took his story into consideration.


	13. The Enchanted Forest

**The Enchanted Forest**

* * *

So Kakashi Sensei _had_ passed a squad, but only one, as far as I know. And that squad was the one Hisoka was on, so I know it can't really be that difficult (no offense to him, though). Maybe I had this all laid out for me and I didn't even know it.

But I had to set my thoughts aside, because we'd reached the entrance to the special training area I always used. It was secret, and I was the only one who knew about it. But I figured it couldn't hurt to let Hisoka in on it, too. He was too gentlemanly not to trust.

I stopped him. "Okay, before we go in, you have to promise me something." I said; he looked confused as he glanced around.

"Go in...where? I don't see a door or gate anywhere." He said, but I didn't let him go on. I gave him that weird stare that freaks people out if you do it for too long. He nodded. "Okay, I'll promise. What is it?"

"You have to promise that you won't reveal the location of this place to anyone, not even your brothers." I said sternly; he nodded and shrugged.

"Okay, I can do that." I rolled my eyes.

"This is serious. This place is special to me. You have to really promise." He looked offended.

"Okay, I promise not to reveal the location of this place to anyone, not even my brothers." He said, hand raised and all. I smiled.

"Then you may enter." I said, stepping back and lightly pushing on the ten-foot-tall hedge in front of us. A small section opened up, just enough for him to duck through and for me to walk through regularly after him. I couldn't see his face as he entered, but I knew it must've resembled something not far from awe. I should know. I had the same reaction when I'd first seen this place.

Inside was basically a miracle garden. Everything that grew here was either wild or planted centuries ago by my ancestors that found this place first. Tall, thick birch trees dotted the area, the base of the trunks surrounded by wildflowers like tulips and morning glories and hyacinth. There were several crystal-clear ponds throughout the area, that held beautiful fish like koi, largemouth bass, and all sorts of beta fish.

Wild animals roamed free, too. Deer and moose were the main occupants, but there were even a couple wild horses that lived here. And the birds, oh. The birds were probably the most attractive sight here. Flocks of multicolored birds, possibly from all over the world, nested in these birch trees. A few I could name were many breeds of birds of paradise, secretarybirds, lady gouldian finches, and there's even a small flock of red-knobbed hornbills around here somewhere (I'll tell ya, those things look like they came from the Jurassic-Period). There was all sorts of colours in here, but there was one place in particular that I just loved to train at. It was at the very center of the enchanted forest of sorts.

I took Hisoka's hand, which jolted him back to reality (no doubt he was wondering if this place was real or not), and led him through the birch trees, both of us smiling. His hand felt warm and secure in mine, safe even. I resisted the urge to turn around and just take him into my arms, though I had no idea where that urge came from.

He let me lead him as we both took in the sights and sounds of the beauty around us. But, too soon, we were there, at the center of this seemingly never-ending forest. It was just a huge field, but the obstacles made for natural training grounds. There was a good-sized lake right in the middle, with a bridge of stone constructed by those now centuries dead. And then there were these odd rock formations that shot up out of the ground like poles. They were probably about twenty feet high, and around five feet in diameter. And the very tops of these stone pillars were flat, which made them perfect for practicing balance and accuracy.

"This place has everything, doesn't it?" Hisoka noted in a hushed voice, as if he would disturb the peace and serenity with his presence. I laughed and pulled him further inside, then stopped at the edge of the lake.

"This is where we'll train from now on. And, trust me when I say this. It'll take your breath away with how this place works its magic on you." I told him. He looked a little puzzled, which was just how I wanted him. But then I stepped away. "Okay, go to the other side of that bridge. We'll start by running as fast as we can to the middle, and then going all out. Don't hold back, okay? I want to see what you've got so I know what I have to work with." He nodded and left to stand at the opposite end of the stone bridge. "Ready...go!" I exclaimed.

We ninja-ran to the center, kunai clashing on impact. We pushed each other away and slid back a good couple of feet. This kept up for a moment, then I decided to heat things up. I ducked to dodge his next slash, and rammed him in the stomach. He was probably taken aback by the strength I had. I pushed hard off the ground and we flew into the air, with me in charge of where we fall.

Hisoka seemed to panic as we descended from our high elevation point. I just laughed and made a hand sign. All at once, about ten clones of myself surrounded him, and he was barraged with punches all the way down to the ground. But at the last second, he seemed to regain himself.

Turns out, he had lightning-fast reflexes when he wanted to. A whirlwind of kunai flew out from his spinning figure, and turned my clones to smoke until one found my shoulder. We both landed on our feet, and I clutched my right shoulder where the blood was seeping from it.


	14. Surprises

**Surprises**

* * *

He looked apologetic, but I shook my head. "Don't be sorry. This is good. I can see you've got pin-point accuracy and really fast reflexes." I told him. "Remember, don't hold back." He nodded, understanding now.

He came at me again, and I side-stepped just in time before his kunai lashed out at me again. I pulled out a few shuriken and spun them on my fingers, releasing them one by one. Out of the five that I threw, only one hit its mark. One of the sharp points wedged itself deep inside Hisoka's left thigh, and I smiled. But my grin quickly faded as I watched his movements.

I continued to assault him with weapons, and paid close attention to something I'd noticed. Then I saw it, somehow. He was dodging before I even threw the knife! It was like he knew exactly when and where I was aiming, and got out of the way in the nick of time. This was new...

I noticed something rather odd about his skin, as well. It seemed to be...glowing a faint blue. I blinked a few times, pausing in my attacks to dodge for a moment. Yup, it was definitely glowing blue. Actually, it was...chakra! He was actually emitting chakra from his body! This must've had something to do with his future-sense or whatever it was. I held up my hand to stop his arm from blowing against my head, and held tight. He stopped obediently.

"What is it? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He asked; I laughed.

"In case you haven't noticed, the only injury you've inflicted on me was with that one kunai knife. Don't flatter yourself." I said teasingly. He smiled, a little embarrassed. But then I turned serious again. "But no, I was wondering about the chakra your emitting." I said, getting a more comfortable grip on his arm to examine it. The glow was fading, but it was still there. I looked back up to see him smiling.

"I was wondering when you'd notice that." He said, continuing to let me hold his arm. "Yeah, it's a special kind of jutsu, a technique known only to my family in the Leaf. It's called the Foresight Jutsu. It allows me to see my opponent's next moves, although I only have enough time to dodge it because I'm not as experienced as my parents." He said. "See, the more skilled you become at it, the further you can see into your battle. Right now, I can only see your very next move just before you engage it. It's allowed me to avoid too much injury." He glanced down at his still bleeding leg and a few bruises on his arms. I let go reflexively. But then his eyes got all soft and polite again. "Is your shoulder okay?" He asked, touching it gently.

It had gone numb after a minute or two, but his touch sent a wave of stabbing pain through my entire arm, and I cringed. He shot back immediately, hands in the air.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. It's just...well, here." He dug around in his jean pocket, and pulled out a flat container that rattled with, most likely, medicinal pills. "These'll help take away the pain. Don't worry, they're not, like, sleeping drugs or anything. They'll just neutralize the nerves in your shoulder for a while, hopefully until we've finished here." He said, offering me the three in his hand. I shook my head.

"No, I'd rather not, but thank you. You see, I prefer to deal with pain rather than succumb to it and make it go away like that. The pain makes me stronger, and you of all people should know that can't hurt in any situation." I told him. He contemplated as he put the pills back, then examined his own injuries for a moment. Then his eyes found mine again.

"You're right. But, you will let me bandage that up later, right?" He asked; I laughed, but nodded.

"Okay, Mom." I teased. I tried not to show the pain of the memory that backfired into my mind. "Anyway, let's move on. I guess your Foresight Jutsu will be a major advantage when you become more skilled at it, even though you're pretty good at it now. Here, follow me." I said, then disappeared from his sight.

I appeared on top of the nearest stone pillar, looking down on him. His head whipped around, without success of finding me. I whistled, and he glanced up, surprised. "You just gonna stand there all day? Get up here." I said, standing and walking out of his view. He ninja-jumped onto the pillar on the other end. There were about six pillars between us, enough to maneuver without colliding often.

"What are we gonna do way up here?" He asked, nervously looking over the edge of his pillar. I smiled.

"Let me guess, you're afraid of heights?" I asked; he glared at me.

"No, I just...dislike the elevation, that's all. Anyway, will you answer my question?" He said impatiently. I couldn't be mad at his sudden rudeness. I get cranky when I'm nervous, too.

"Fine, fine. We're up here to practice your balance. You may not think you need this kind of training, but you never know. Let's just try it out, okay?" He nodded and stood in a battle-ready stance. I did the same. "It'll be the same as before. Come at me with all you got. Just try not to fall off." I saw his neck tense as he gulped, and couldn't help the smile that formed on my face. "Okay, go!" I said, taking off instantly. I appeared behind him, before he was even able to turn around.

But he did hold up his forearm to block my side-blow, aimed at his head. Then he twisted his hand to grab my arm and threw me all the way over his head. I did a 360 in mid-air and landed on a middle column. He didn't miss a beat. He was right up on me, his fist landing on home as it connected with my face. I flew even further back, the pain in my nose disabling any chance of me landing on my feet a few pillars back.

This time, he didn't ask if I was okay, which I appreciated. My nose was obviously broken, but I just got up and wiped the blood off my mouth. Ouch, I think he cracked my lip, too. No matter. Gotta keep my head in the game. As soon as I was up, I caught a kunai heading for my gut. Well, at least he wasn't really trying to kill me. With his speed, he must know I wouldn't catch every single kunai and blow he threw my way.


End file.
